Stream the seres now with KPBS Passport on KPBS+ / Watch Wednesdays, Feb. 4 - 18, 2026 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV
CONFLUENCE explores the enduring and often surprising connections between three essential aspects of the human experience: art, science, and creativity. Throughout the three-part series, an intriguing array of scientists, researchers and artists work at the cutting edge of creativity in painting, sculpture, robotics, video games, fashion and music.
Creatives such as violinist Joshua Bell, artist Nick Cave, and members of the multi-Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth take viewers behind the scenes of their process and find surprising results as they engage with both art and science.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: “The Dance” Stream now with KPBS Passport on KPBS+ / Watch Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV - This episode reveals how art and technology are forever engaged in a push/pull dialog that advances creative enterprise. Scientists and engineers learn from artists while artists use new technologies in unexpected ways. A choreographer/engineer teaches robots to dance. A robot enables neurologically challenged children to paint. A physicist uses jazz to understand the universe. And more.
Episode 2: “The Material World” Stream now with KPBS Passport on KPBS+ / Watch Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV - It’s not only what we make. It’s the materials we make it with that turns stuff into art. Glass is forged into playable cymbals. An array of found objects become breathtaking sculpture. Banana leaves are transformed into fabric for the haute couture runway. Immunofluorescence turns microorganisms into artworks. Folded paper informs nanotechnology for space exploration. All are part of the story.
Episode 3: “Everything New is Old Again” Stream now with KPBS Passport on KPBS+ / Watch Wednesday, Feb.18 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV - From the pencil to computer algorithms, early cartoons to videogames, and a 350-year-old Stradivarius to AI-generated sounds, since the beginning technological innovation has advanced the story of art. We’ll visit the Louvre and cutting-edge artists’ ateliers, go behind the scenes with leading video game designers, and hear how ancient and modern music technologies equally lift the human spirit.
Watch On Your Schedule: Steam CONFLUENCE now with KPBS Passport on KPBS+, a new free streaming video app designed for ease and enjoyment everywhere you watch including Roku, smart TVs and mobile devices. It’s locally curated for San Diego by the KPBS programming team. With a clean and intuitive design, discovering and enjoying KPBS and PBS content on-demand has never been easier.
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Distributed by American Public Television
